Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
October 7, 2020
Local jazz icons Les DeMerle and Bonnie Eisele were on hand at the October 6, 2020 Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC) meeting to accept a City Proclamation declaring October 5 through October 11, 2020, as “Les DeMerle Amelia Island Jazz Festival Week.”
For many years the Les DeMerle Amelia Island Jazz Festival has brought exciting world-class jazz entertainment to Fernandina Beach in styles including Contemporary, Big Band, Latin, Swing, Dixieland, Blues and more. This year, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, considering safety and health precautions and local mandates, the Amelia Island Jazz Festival is presenting virtual, online, live-streamed headline performances in tribute to jazz legends, Duke Ellington featuring the Les DeMerle Band with Bonnie Eisele, and the music of Louis Armstrong featuring renowned trumpeter and vocalist, Longineu Parsons.
In accepting the Proclamation, DeMerle thanked the FBCC and local citizens for their support over the years. He informed the audience that in an effort to reach out to as many concert goers as possible, the Amelia Island Jazz Festival this year is offering virtual, ticketed shows from the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge and Story and Song Bookstore Bistro plus a special presentation broadcast by WJCT’s Electro-Lounge Radio featuring music from seventeen years of Amelia Island Jazz Festival highlights.
For more information about this year’s Jazz Festival, visit their website here .